Around New England

New Hampshire Governor Says No To Mask Mandate

May 23, 2020

New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu is not going to make his constituents wear masks out in public amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

According to Newsweek, Sununu said that New Hampshire is “not in a position to say a mask-wearing order is appropriate at this time.”

Sununu also downplayed the idea of putting a mask mandate on the Granite State in early May, Newsweek reports.

The state has started opening up its economy quicker than Massachusetts. It allowed retail shops and personal care businesses to open their doors on May 11. On May 18 earlier this week, it allowed restaurants to reopen for in-person dining — as long as the diners eat outside.

New Hampshire has not been hit as hard as Massachusetts by coronavirus. Some 204 people had died of coronavirus in New Hampshire as of 9 a.m. Friday, May 22, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. That’s about .015 percent of the population, or less than two people out of every 10,000.

In Massachusetts, some 6,228 people had died of coronavirus as of 4 p.m. Friday, May 22, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. That’s about .09 percent of the population, or about nine people out of every 10,000.

Whether wearing a mask in public is a good idea to prevent the spread of coronavirus is a matter of dispute, although the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently recommending it.